


A Feudal Fairy Tale Rewrite

by pinabutterandjam



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, miroku is gay and not a creep, new age priestess kagome has narcolepsy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23065393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinabutterandjam/pseuds/pinabutterandjam
Summary: Revamping the long-loved Inuyasha, eliminating misogyny and homophobia, fixing plot holes, and adding more subsistence to the story. Building more rapport between characters, and heartache than the original, we journey along this feudal fairy tale together again.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Comments: 13
Kudos: 13





	1. The Priestess Returns

The village was burning from it's core, unable to see through the dark clouds and smoke. Children were choking and voicelessly screamed as the warriors gathered stones and weapons, and mothers rushed to gather water from the stream. A flash of red engulfing a bright purple light cut through the village, from the shrine of the sacred jewel. His menacing laughter was more than young Kaede needed to identify him, but it was difficult to focus in for a shot because of the smoke strangling her lungs. She shot a sacred arrow and pierced Inuyasha's arm, removing the jewel from his grasp but sending it flying in the air. Though he was a demon, he did not die from her weak spiritual powers, and continued to pursue the jewel into the forest.

Kikyo followed the energy of the shikon jewel, only to find Inuyasha holding it in his greedy hands and looking upon the destruction he caused.

“Inuyasha!” Kikyo shouted, alerting him of her presence too late for him to dodge the arrow that pierced through his heart, and hung him against the tree.

The jewel rolled out of his hand as he lost consciousness, gasping her name as his final breath.

Kikyo tainted the jewel with her tears before she rushed back to the village to find Kaede exiting a burning home with a child around her waist. “Kaede!” she yelled, and dropped to her knees in front of her. “Kaede, please leave this village until the flames have gone out.”

“But Kikyo-” she tried to argue between heavy coughs.

“Go, I'll take care of this.” Kikyo delicately rubbed her sister's sooted cheek with her thumb. She arose, and ran into the burning buildings, rescuing the elderly folks who did not have the strength to escape on their own.

But the cruel heavens struck down and removed her influence from the world too early, allowing the final occupied home to fall on both her and an elderly man, consuming their bodies with flames. The smoke carried her spirit into the sky, and returned her to the land of the dead.

When the night drifted into darkness once again, the villagers returned to to witness the horror of it all. The burned remained of Kikyo enveloped the elderly man, as a last attempt to save his life with her own, but to no avail. All that remained was the shikon jewel, still shining through Kikyo's closed fist.

Kaede screamed out her sister's name and clung to her body.

The surrounding villagers allowed her to have a moment to grieve as they offered silent prayers for her soul, but Kaede could not be torn away for hours. “Leave me! Leave me with her!” she'd sob, and nestle her face in the remains of Kikyo's hair. When the sun was beginning to break through the horizon for a new day, Kaede was pulled off her sister's body, and left to sleep with swollen eyes as the burial was prepared.

* * *

Each morning since that day, Kaede prayed over her sister's grave with the shikon jewel clasped between her hands. The jewel learned her fears, her excitement, and her secrets over 50 years, and the energy of it protected Kaede as much as she protected it. Until the day they would part, the jewel was family.

A demon centipede slithered through the sky, bringing with it, dark clouds that loomed over the village. Kaede could feel the demonic energy in her bones before she witnessed it's destruction, stepping into the battlefield when it called for the priestess who protected the jewel. Kaede channeled her spiritual energy into her bow, and aimed an arrow at the creature. She struck the tail of the beast, but her human torso and head where unaffected by the blow. From her innate calmness arose fear, as the demon slashed Kaede's arms with her claws.

“Are you the priestess with the shikon jewel?”

Kaede wasted no time to pick up another arrow, and strike the demon again, but it was uneffective because she lacked the spiritual energy. The demon hurled itself at Kaede, throwing her to the ground, and digging it's nails into her arms. Kaede screamed in pain as she thought of and prayed to her sister and the jewel.

Village men with their farming tools whacked the demon until it released Kaede to pursue them. In it's pursuit, Kaede managed to roll to her side, aim an arrow, and dissolve it's flesh.

“Are you are alright, Lady Kaede?” a village man asked as he kneeled down beside her.

Kaede groaned from the pain. “It seems I'm getting too old for these tiresome battles.” She pulled the shikon jewel hanging around her neck, and tore it from it's place. “I must bring it to a new protector. I... I must,” she lowered her voice as she dawned on the perfect protector. “I must return it to my sister.”

“But Lady Kaede,” the villager spoke. “Your sister died 50 years ago.”

Kaede clenched her teeth from the pain as she pulled herself up, stumbling on her own feet but catching her fall against the exterior of her home. She silently walked up the mountain path to the shrine that marked where her sisters bones rested. “If I can send this jewel back to her soul, it will remain protected in the spirit world. It will remain forever untouched by the evil in our world.”

Kaede held onto her sister's elevated shrine with one hand, and onto the jewel with the other. “May I borrow your torch?” she asked of one of the concerned and curious villagers who followed her. The villager handed the torch without a word, and watched Kaede's spiritual powers at work. She chanted lowly in a language only she knew, and held the jewel above the flame. The jewel began to glow as blinding as an afternoon sun, but simmered down as the flames rose and consumed it. Kaede let go of the jewel, and it remained hovering over the torch fire, slowly disappearing as if it were a sparkler reaching the end of it's life. With the jewel gone, Kaede let out a sigh of relief and fell to her knees.

* * *

“Despite what legends say, no one is sure what happened to the jewel that lived in Inuyasha's forest. Some will still search for it, determined to reap it's infinite powers,” the old man rambled again. When he stopped to breathe, he finally heard the faint snores of his sleeping granddaughter. “Kagome!” he shouted, startling her awake and falling back on the tatami mats. “I work around your schedule and you still don't stay awake for my lessons,” he huffed and turned his back to Kagome.

“I'm sorry grandpa, I'm not doing it on purpose. Besides, I listened to most of the story this time,” she forced an exaggerated smile, and batted her eyelashes.

He turned his head slightly to glare at her face. “What was the lesson about today, Kagome?”

“Uh...Something about the Inuyasha jewel?”

“The _shikon_ jewel! In Inuyasha's _forest_ ,” he corrected, and throwing his hands in the air and huffing into a slouched position. “Though I don't understand why they didn't call it the Shikon forest. What's an Inuyasha anyways?” he rambled again as Kagome's eyes started to flutter into unconsciousness. “Kagome!”

Kagome startled into sitting upright. “I'm listening, I'm listening.”

Her grandfather sighed as he used the table beside him to hold his weight as he lowered himself into a sitting position. “These are lessons you need to know as a priestess. And I know you're ready for you initiation, but there's more to being a priestess than communicating with kami. You are a protector, and it's important to learn the history of past priestesses and how they protected their communities.”

Kagome shifted to lean on her left arm, and looked down at the tatami mats. “I know that grandpa, I'm not falling asleep because I don't care, I can't control the way narcolepsy affects me. I've been training for this for five years now, I promise you I'm taking this seriously.”

Her grandpa nodded, then looked to the heavens with teary eyes. “May the kami you meet tonight cure your sleepiness so I can finally get through a story!”

* * *

Kagome washed her body in the cold water of a nearby stream that crossed through her property. She grabbed the neatly folded plain white kimono, feeling the soft fabric as it gilded across her skin. _Initiation day_. The day she would end her previous life, and step into anew as a priestess in modern Japan. With the final preparation of covering her head with a sheer white cloth, she made her way towards the sacred tree outside of her house. She slowly followed the remaining spiritual leaders and elders in Tokyo. The elders surrounded the tree, holding mirrors towards Kagome, who now sat in front of the tree as dawn broke through the horizon to touch her bare hands. Her grandfather, and other elders, began to chant in their secret language, to summon a kami. Assisted by dancing, ritualistic drumming and rattlers, they circled around Kagome as the sun light up the space, lending it's power.

As the light grew stronger, the well began to rattle, and paper seals began to burn. The seal over the well burst open with the presence of a demon, comprised only of bones, human and anthropod.

Kagome began to shiver with the overwhelming sense of dread and danger. “Grandpa-” she barely whispered, when the chanting stopped and was replaced with gasps and screams. The elders immediately dropped their mirrors, shattering them on the stone ground, and whipped out their swords and bows.

“Kagome, get out of here!” Her grandfather yelled, shielding her with his body, and pointing an arrow at the beast that was quickly approaching. Kagome nodded, and ran blindly towards her home for shelter, but was swept away by the centipede. It latched onto her torso with it's shark-like teeth, and drove her into the well where it came from.

“I can feel my powers returning,” the demon spoke, with flesh growing on it's bones. The face was revived, seeming of a women, but with the large body of a centipede. “You have it, don't you?”

Through labored breaths, Kagome yelled, “Let me go!” and touched it's jaw with her hands. From her hands, the glow of the shikon jewel, and the power lent to Kagome repelled the monster until it's grotesque body evaporated.

Her body gently descended to the bottom of the well, on top of the roughly chopped, and fresh, corpse of the demon. She reeked of her own blood, and held onto the side of her torso to stop the bleeding. “Grandpa,” she called out breathlessly. “Grandpa, I'm in the well.”

With nothing but silence in return, she finally opened her eyes, and looked up the well. She was blinded by the light of the morning sun. _The shed must've fallen_ she thought. She grabbed onto the overgrown and thick vines inside the well, and climbed her way out of the well. “Grand-” she gasped, looking at the dense forest around her, “Pa.”

Kagome looked down at the well, then up at the forest, with thoughts racing so fast none were complete enough to be interpreted. “Did,” she said to herself, landing on the grass that was crawling up the sides of the well, “I die?” She touched her wound, still aware of the pain it was causing her, and looked at the blood on her hand. “No, I think I'm still alive.”

_This is our well. This is..._ She quietly obeyed her instincts, which knew the direction home from the well. As she walked away, the remains of the centipede demon trembled.

Kagome took in the new scenery, filled with plants and insects she's never seen the life of near her well at home. Recognizing none but one, the sacred tree she was sitting in front of just moments ago. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the red kimono poke out between the thick vines, which climbed and cloaked a white haired boy.

“Excuse me,” Kagome said quietly, as if she didn't want to wake him from his slumber. “Are you... dead?”

_What a stupid question, of course he's dead_. But he hasn't rotted away, he was preserved in time, captured like a photo with the arrow in his chest. “Who would do such a thing?”

Her eyes brightened when she noticed fluffy ears tangled in his beautiful white hair. Kagome jogged to the foot of the tree, and climbed the vines with a new sense of purpose, completely ignoring the pain in her side, but held her breath when she was face to face with the strange boy. Er, dog boy? He looked so peaceful, like buddha meditating under the shade of the bodhi tree. Both present in this world, but too far away to pull back from the grips of the other side.

Kagome let out a great breath, and raised her bloodied hands slowly to his dog ears. She rubbed them and laughed softly. “Now that I got that out of my system,” she turned her head slightly, but froze when the sharp edge of an arrow breezed by her cheek.

“Who are you?” An old priestess demanded, holding another arrow in her bow. A crowd of men behind her held dozens of picks. “What are you doing with Inuyasha?”

_Inuyasha?_ “Ah! So this is Inuyasha's forest,” she recalled to herself. The old lady with the eye patch aimed the arrow at Kagome. Kagome held out her hands in defense, and begged, “No wait!”

* * *

Kagome sat patiently on a rice straw mat, placed on the barren ground, surrounded by angry men with picks in their hands. The elder lady was cleaning up the wound on Kagome's torso with a red-tinged cloth that smelled strongly of the same medicinal herbs her grandfather collected and preserved. Despite the dull pain, Kagome kept her focus on the strange men. _Top knot, top knot, top knot. What is this, feudal Japan?_

“You didn't have to tie me up, you know.”

The lady attending to her wounds ignored her. “Which village do you come from, young miko?” the old lady asked.

“I'm from Tokyo.”

The old lady wrapped a long strip of fabric around her torso multiple times, and hummed a response, “Hmm, never heard of it.” When she finished tucking the end of the fabric in a fold, she wiped her hands on the bloodied rag. “What were you doing with Inuyasha? Were you trying to release him from his spell?” she questioned again.

“I dont-” Kagome started, but was interrupted from a familiar rumble, and screaming in response.

“Lady Kaede, the demon has returned!”

Kagome can only remember the event in a haze of screams. Lady Centipede attacked the villagers, speaking of the jewel again, speaking of the girl who had it. Despite being void of any jewel, Kagome knew the demon was targeting her. _I have to lead her away from this village, before everyone is..._ She must've stood on her own, hands still bound, and ran as far as her legs could take her. She barely remembers the feel of the centipede catching up to her, and slicing at her back. With her hands finally free- full of blood, but free, she crawled, digging her nails in the dirt hoping it would give her enough grip to pull herself up and away from the demon's clutches. She doesn't remember screaming for help, but it is burned in her memory the moment the dead boy on the sacred tree awoke.

“Well, if it isn't Kikyo. What's wrong, can't you waste that demon like you wasted me?” he snarled.

Kagome looked up at the slits in his golden eyes, the sharp fangs pressed against his bottom lip, the heavy energy of doom wafting off his body. “What?” she asked breathlessly. _Wasn't he...?_

“I'll devour you whole, shikon jewel and all!” the screamed before it grabbed Kagome once again in it's mouth, splitting open her fresh wound even further. Kagome grabbed the demon by it's jaw, and tried to pry it off of her. The same purple light shot from her hands, and burned the demon enough for it to let her go.

Inuyasha's eyes focused on Kagome with a sparkle in his eyes. “You've gotten weaker, Kikyo. Why don't you take this arrow out of me so I can finish this demon off.”

Kagome crawled to the tree, breathing heavily. “Can you?” She grabbed onto the overgrown vines. “Can you kill it?”

Inuyasha scoffed. “This demon has nothing on me.”

“I'll squeeze the jewel out of you!” the centipede screeched, rapidly wrapping itself around the tree, and squeezing Kagome against Inuyasha's legs. She extended her arm as far as she could, choking from her crushing lungs. But when she touched the arrow, it disintegrated into nothing.

At what felt like a heartbeat, the atmosphere changed. Kagome's vision was blurry from the lack of oxygen in her lungs, but was released from her suffering before she lost all consciousness. Though from the nightmare she witnessed, she preferred to have never lived through it at all.

With but a simple movement of his hand, Inuyasha diced the demon in five large chunks, and was drenched from it's blood as the corpse rained down.

His golden eyes flickered to Kagome, who was still wheezing and gasping for more air. She coughed a rough, “Thank you,” and sat up against the tree.

Inuyasha smirked. “You really have gotten weak, haven't you, Kikyo?” He chuckled. “I thought a demon like that would be no match for you,” his voice was dark enough to hit Kagome deep in her belly. A feeling of vomit rising up to her head as she realized, _he was sealed to the tree for a reason_. Suddenly feeling lightheaded from the fear, she scrambled to get up, but wasn't able to keep her balance as if she were drunk.

He raised his blood-soaked claws. “What's wrong, Kikyo?”

And for just a moment, her fear transformed into anger, and the response to fight was activated the only way she was familiar with. Kagome growled. “Kikyo! Kikyo! I don't know who you think I am, but I am _not_ Kikyo! My name is Kagome! Ka! Go! Me!”

“Say what you want,” Inuyasha yelled, and in a flash, he was over her head swiping at her body. “But you reek of the woman who killed me!”

Kagome ducked in time, landing face first into the ground. She coughed out the dirt she accidentally swallowed, and scrambled to her feet yet again. She ran blindly, too afraid to look back at the demon thirsty for her blood. Yet her efforts were useless, as he sliced into her bleeding wound. From the wound, what she initially assumed was a golf ball from the size, spit out of her body. _What was that doing in me?!_

“Young girl, do not let Inuyasha get his hands on the jewel!” Kaede screamed, running as fast as her short old legs would let her towards Kagome.

_Jewel? What jewel?_ Kagome lifted her head to see the blood-covered ball emitting a light in front of her. “It,” she groaned out, stretching her arm out towards it. “It can't be.”

Kagome clasped her hand around the jewel, and clutched onto it even when Inuyasha stepped on her arm. “Not much of a hiding spot, Kikyo.”

Kaede quietly recited a spell to the beads in her hands, ignored by both Kagome and Inuyasha.

“I'm not,” Kagome protested, ripping her arm from under Inuyasha, causing him to stumble, “Kikyo!”

As he gained his footing again, and snarled low at Kagome, rosary beads floated from Kaede and flew towards Inuyasha. They circled around his head, before piecing themselves together around his neck. “Now girl, speak the subduing word!” Kaede shouted.

Kagome took the distraction as an opportunity to begin running towards Kaede and the villagers who followed closely behind. “What word?” Kagome shouted in response.

“What the hell is this?” Inuyasha venomously shouted as he repeatedly tried to remove the necklace, but to no avail.

“Any word will do! Anything to quiet Inuyasha!”

Kagome looked back to Inuyasha- his sharp claws, his fearsome fangs, all in contrast with the peaceful dog-boy who rested on the tree not even 10 minutes ago.

The slits of his eyes enlarged as he zoned in on Kagome, and he leap in the air like a cat. Kagome winced, and yelled, “Sit, boy!”

Inuyasha screamed, and smashed into the ground. “What the-”

“Sit, boy! Sit, boy! Sit, boy!” Kagome yelled in one breath. Inuyasha laid in the shallow pit in the shape of his body, whimpering like a dog.

* * *

“My grandfather told me about this jewel, but how did it get inside me?”

Kaede hummed as she tended to Kagome's wounds, wrapping poultice around the wound in which the jewel was released. “It's most odd, I have to admit. It was mere hours ago I burned the jewel, and sent it to the soul of my late sister. But you are nearly an adult, I'm not sure how it would end up inside you.”

“Maybe she stole the jewel,” Inuyasha huffed, facing the exit of the door, but laying too close for Kagome's comfort.

Kagome whispered, “Why is he still here?”

“Don't you worry, child. Inuyasha is not much of a threat with those beads around his neck.” Kaede reassured.

“You wait until I get this necklace off, you old hag.”

Kaede groaned as she stood up, and walked around the fire pit to the bucket of fresh water in her hut. “That's enough out of you, Inuyasha.” Kaede poured water onto her bloodied hands. “It'd be impossible for a living mortal to steal from the spirit realm.” She dried her hands on a clean rag, and made her way back to the fire, letting out a small groan as her stiff legs cracked. “No matter, this is something of a problem. Evil beings will come swarming after that jewel.”

Kagome tightened her fist around the jewel. “You mean demons?”

“Not only demons, but even humans with evil in their hearts. In this age of war, if they can get ahold of the shikon jewel and all of it's power...” Kaede didn't finish her sentence, but shuddered at the thought.

Kagome looked to Inuyasha. “Why do you want the shikon jewel? Even without it's power, you're strong.”

“It's because he's merely a half demon,” Kaede answered with certainty.

Inuyasha sat up and smashed his fist through the wooden floor. “How do you know so much about me, old hag?” he growled.

“So, you don't recognize me then?” she hummed. “It's not surprising, it has been 50 years since you last saw me. I am the younger sister of Kikyo. I am Kaede.”

Inuyasha scratched his head trying to recall his memories of her. “So you were that brat, huh?” He leaned back and chuckled with his eyes closed. “Guess Kikyo's a total hag now as well. Too bad, being human-”

“Kikyo is dead.” Inuyasha's eyes shot open, but he looked away from both Kagome and Kaede. “She died the same day you were sealed,” Kaede recalled solemnly.

Inuyasha turned his back towards them, and resumed the pointless activity of staring at the door in silence. The tension in the air guarded Inuyasha from Kagome's prying questions, but she couldn't help to wonder why he seemed sad when he was so quick to attack her when he assumed she was Kikyo.

The wood crackled in the fire, the only thing breaking the silence before Kagome did. “Lady Kaede,” she started. “How do I get home?”


	2. Shattered

“How do I get home?”

Inuyasha's ears twitched the same moment Kaede tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean? Do you not remember your way home?”

“I-” Kagome stopped, and looked down at her bloodied kimono. She scrunched up the fabric with her fists. “The demon dragged me into our family's well, but when I got out, I was in the forest.”

“Do you mean the dry well in Inuyasha's forest?” Kaede's mention of the forest's name since his entrapment persuaded Inuyasha to sit up and face them for conversation. Kagome looked up to think for a moment, then nodded in response. “I suppose it makes sense it dragged you there, it is where we disposed of the demon's bones just before your arrival.”

Kaede stared intensely at Kagome, studying her face which evoked an uncomfortable shuffle in Kagome. “Um, so, do you, uh, know how I can get home?”

“If I'm right about my understanding of this situation, you need to go through the well again with the jewel.”

“What?!” Inuyasha interrupted. “There's no way in hell I'm letting her escape with the jewel!” Inuyasha instinctively growled at them.

Kaede ignored Inuyasha, and his threatening demeanor. “I imagine it is much safer for the jewel to remain in your village, as you've managed to hide it there for 13 years.”

Kagome's face twitched. “I'm 16,” she corrected. “I'm sure my grandfather was protecting me and the jewel this whole time.” Kagome stared into the pure purple jewel, remembering that he mentioned the jewel before, but she couldn't recall his exact words. _I guess I must've slept through it_ , she tittered to herself. 

“I'm sure your grandfather is worried about you,” Kaede responded.

“Yeah.” Kagome soaked in the her surroundings one last time before standing up, and bowing in Kaede's direction. “Thank you for everything, Lady Kaede.”

“You are _not_ leaving with that jewel, hand it over,” Inuyasha demanded, standing up with her, and puffing out his chest.

“Sit, boy,” she said unfazed from his demonic nature, keeping her balance as the ground rumbled with the impact of his thrown body. “Hmph,” she voiced, and journeyed her way to the bone-filled well in the forest.

Inuyasha followed her, smashing into the ground every few minutes at the command of Kagome, leaving him unable to catch up to her and swipe the jewel from her hands. He barked curses at her, but she drowned out his tantrum effortlessly. Instead, she appreciated the scenery she neglected earlier.

Kagome stopped in front of the tree, the sacred tree where Inuyasha laid in a seemingly peaceful slumber. She touched the bare trunk, realizing that the imprint of his body was the cause of the strange bark formation on her tree. She noticed that this tree was smaller than the one she grew up with, but knew with unshakable conviction it was the same tree nonetheless. _Am I... in the past?_

She shook her head, and stepped back, crunching on spare twigs and broken branches. “That's not possible,” she said to herself.

Twigs still broke under pressure from around her, but she realized too late that she wasn't the one stepping on them.

* * *

The nearly-naked bandits held her arms firmly behind her back as they guided her into an ancient temple, which was barely hanging onto it's life through the use of few remaining wooden beams. The wooden doors were slashed and falling apart, the interior destroyed and stripped of it's original furnishing. Sitting at the foot of a headless statue was a large bald man whose eyes were out of focus. The temple smelled of rotting corpses and urine.

“Here you are, boss,” one of the weasel-like bandits announced before throwing Kagome on the dirty floor. From the thrust, the jewel rolled out of her kimono sleeve.

The bald man stood up, towering over everyone, including the headless statue. “Heh,” he laughed, but it sounded like a puff of air releasing from his lungs, from the weakness of it. He folded his torso over his legs to reach the jewel instead of crouching.

“No, give it back!” Kagome yelled, lunging in after it.

The large man whipped out his sword and swung low, but it caught on the wooden floor boards. Kagome backed herself into one of the remaining beams. “Re... strain... her...” he manged to breathe out through his lips.

“Uh, alright,” one of the bandits said, holding one of her arms out. Kagome kicked him in one of his shins, which only resulted in him angrily grabbing her arm tighter while another held her other arm.

The large man lifted the sword, and swung.

Blood spouted out of the bandit on her left, the light fading from his eyes as his arm plopped to the ground, closely followed by the rest of his lifeless body.

“Boss?!” the others yelled from a safe distance.

“Hehe, oops,” the large man said in the same breathy tone. Kagome freed herself from the loose grasp of the other man, and crouched as the large man swung the sword with his whole body.

The severed head of the bandit dropped beside her, eliciting a shriek from Kagome and the other bandits.

“Boss, what are you doing?” an older bandit asked of him. He paid no mind to those around him, except for his target. Kagome rushed towards the abandoned stack of weapons on the opposite side of the temple.

She grabbed a large spear, and pointed it towards the destructive man. “St-Stay back! This spear can reach farther, so-”

He lopped off the head of the spear, leaving Kagome with a useless stick of wood. _I'm done for._

As he raised his sword again, Kagome shut her eyes, but never felt the penetration of the sword against her skin. When she opened up her eyes slightly, she recognized the red cloth. Inuyasha sliced the sword in half with the use of his claws, and sheltered Kagome with his body against the threatening man.

“What...” one bandit voiced. “Who the hell is that?” another added.

“I thought you were going home?”

“Well, clearly something else came up,” Kagome responded, pointing at the unfriendly giant.

“Where's the jewel?” Inuyasha demanded out of her.

“Oh, you came for the jewel...” Kagome deflated.

“Of course! Why else would I be here?” Inuyasha argued. His nose suddenly scrunched up as if he were eating umeboshi. He covered his sensitive nose with his sleeve, and turned to look at the human skyscraper again. “It reeks of a rotting corpse.” _It?_ “You're in there, aren't you, Shibugarasu?” Inuyasha sliced into the boss's chest plate, and uncovered a three eyed bird resting in it's lungs.

All of the bandits and Kagome screamed again. Some bandits fell on their asses, while others bolted out of the building. ”Looks like it ate it's way into his chest and built a fucking nest.”

“You mean... boss is already dead?” one of the remaining bandits asked of Inuyasha.

The bird screeched at them, but remained put in it's human cave. “Because the Shibugarasu's not that strong, it manipulates a damn corpse to fight.”

The man-puppet strangely crouched again, this time to pick up a new sword. He didn't bother to unsheathe it, but rather he flung his arm back and it slid off on it's own.

Inuyasha lunged at the body, screaming, “Get outta that stinking nest, you scum!” and shoved his hand in the whole of the dead man's chest.

The bird flew out through the back of his human puppet, releasing the heavy body onto Inuyasha. While Inuyasha removed his hand from the chest of the dead man, and tossed him to the side, the bird grabbed the neglected jewel, swallowed it, and flew out.

“Wait, damn you!” Inuyasha screamed. He growled lowly before he noticed a bow and case of arrows in the pile of discarded weapons. “Can you use this?” he asked, throwing the bow to Kagome.

“Yeah, wh-?” Kagome responded partly before Inuyasha grabbed her arm and forced her up. Before she could even process what was happening, Inuyasha swung her on his back, and leapt out of the temple and into the sky.

Kagome locked her arms around his neck in fear and buried her face in his silky white hair. “Quit-” Inuasha started, pulling her arms off of his neck, “Try'na choke me.”

Kagome loosened her grip around his neck, but clutched onto his shoulders, afraid of the wind blowing her off of his back.

“What are you waiting for? Shoot it down!”

“It's kinda difficult to shoot an arrow when I'm holding on for dear life!”

Inuyasha scoffed. “I'm not gonna drop you. Now take the shot before that thing changes into something even more demonic,” he lied. _After she's shot the shibugarasu, I'll have no need for her, and the ground is a long way down._

Kagome slowly let go of Inuyasha's shoulders slowly, and prepared an arrow. She shot it in the direction of the bird, but it missed it completely because she wasn't used to accommodating for the great wind that fought against her.

“I thought you said you could use that thing!”

“I'll have you know I was trained in archery before I started elementary school!” she prepared another arrow and focused her aim on the shining ball of light inside the demon, just as the bird was morphing into a dragon-like creature with sharp teeth. _Any Kami, lend me your power._

Kagome released the arrow, which shone as bright as the shikon jewel, and pierced the demon. The tip of the arrow struck the jewel, and it began to crack as the demon disintegrated around it. The light grew stronger than than the sun, blinding Inuyasha and forcing him to make a hasty landing. A sharp crackle rumbled from above, as if it came from the heavens, threatening to wage war with the use of thunder. From the light, dispersed dozens of smaller lights which traveled through the sky like a ginormous firework.

“Wh,” Inuyasha interrupted. “What happened to the jewel?”

“It... shattered.” Kagome responded, watching the lights touch every inch of the sky.

* * *

“I thought the shikon jewel was indestructible? What the hell happened to it?” Inuyasha demanded out of Kaede.

“It seems that young miko fired a purifying arrow, and managed to shatter it. From where I witnessed it, it looks as if it's been scattered all over the country.”

* * *

Kagome sat on the edge of the dry well, replaying the event in her mind. Remembering that Inuyasha abandoned her when the spontaneous light show ended, she huffed and jumped into the well. Unlike earlier in the day, she was not transported to a magical ocean of blue that faded back into the well. Rather, this time she landed roughly at the bottom, shooting pain from her feet into her knees. “Ow, ow, ow!” She rubbed her knees as she straightened out, then looked up. The sun with still pouring into the well, vines still uncut and overgrown, and demon bones still scattered around her. “It didn't work.”

Kagome climbed up the well again, and jumped back down, resulting in the same pain and disappointing results. She tried again and again, with increasing frustration that turned into tears. _I just want to get back home._

After the exhausting and futile attempts to return to her time, Kagome rubbed the tears off of her face with the sleeve of her ruined kimono. She climbed out of the well one last time, feeling the soreness in her shoulders from the repeated activity. She took her time walking back to Kaede's home, letting the exhaustion wash over her. Her body swayed as if she were drunk.

She paused before entering the tiny home, taking a deep breath before dealing with Inuyasha's never-ending bursts of anger.

Kaede's head whipped towards her. “Kagome,” she said in a surprised tone.

“The well didn't work,” Kagome admitted in defeat, before dropping to her knees.

Kaede reached her arm out, but retracted it before reaching her shoulder. “It's seems my original theory was correct. The jewel connects you to between the two wells, and you'll need the jewel to return to your home.”

“But the jewel is broken...” Kagome clenched her fists in a futile attempt to fight against crying. “How am I going to get back now?”

“I don't know how many pieces the jewel broke into, but I'm sure even one shard would be great enough to power the well for your benefit,” Kaede reassured.

Kagome looked up with new life in her eyes. “You mean, if I find a shard, I can go back home?”

Kaede hummed a response. “Yes. The jewel is powerful enough to resurrect souls from the afterlife, it grants untold power to humans and demons alike, transforming them into demons or even gods depending on how they wield it. It has more power than our minds are capable of imagining.” Kaede looked at Kagome again, studying her face. “But that kind of power... It cannot remain broken and misused by the evil forces in this world. The jewel chose you as it's protector, Kagome. You must collect the shards and return the whole jewel to your home.”

“No way, you old hag. I'm gonna get those jewels before she can get her bony little fingers on them.” 

“Kagome, if you'd please,” Kaede asked, side glancing at Inuyasha.

“Sit, boy,” she complied, and watched as Inuyasha's face smashed through the floorboards. “But Kaede, how am I suppose to find _all_ of the jewel shards?”

“Are you not a priestess, Kagome?”

Kagome looked baffled. “Yes, but-”

“Then you have the eyes to see the shards, do you not?”

Kagome thought back to the bird demon, how she was able to see the jewel in it's body. “I... I guess, but... I didn't even notice it in my body, Lady Kaede. I don't think I have the eyes to see it.”

Kaede explained, “That's because your spiritual energy was powered by the jewel when it laid dormant in your body. Your pure spiritual energy would've camouflaged it's existence, to you and others with the ability.”

Kagome stared at Kaede's desperate, and concerned expression for a few moments. Kagome's heart was heavy, her stomach was empty, her body ached, and she wanted nothing more than to return to her family and take a warm bath to wash this nightmare off her skin and out of her memory. She wanted to safely study under her grandfather until she was ready to take on a demon. She wanted to go to school, take exams, and hang out with her friends. Kagome silently prayed to any kami who would listen, she promised them she would fight to stay awake during the day with every atom in her body, if only she didn't have to live and fight in this time. And so, she responded, “Okay, I'll gather the shards, and return home.”

Kaede delicately smiled, and nodded her thanks. “Inuyasha,” she started, but stopped to watch him scratch his head with his foot for a moment. “Will you assist Kagome in her search?”

Inuyasha dropped his leg and leaned his body closer to Kaede. “Ha! You must be crazy if you think I'll help a human steal shards that belong to me,” he replied with a smirk.

“I beg of you, Inuyasha. Do not let my sister Kikyo's life protecting the jewel be in vain.” Inuyasha held his gaze on Kaede, with an expression Kagome couldn't quite place, but she felt as if her heart was bleeding into her stomach. Kaede quickly added, “Besides, you won't be able to locate the jewel shards without her help.”

Inuyasha groaned, and leaned his back against the wall. “Fine!”

Kagome's heart recovered, and scrunched her face as if she were smelling something foul. “Are you sure we should be working together...?”

Kaede sighed, and shook her head. “Alas, you will need Inuyasha's strength against those who possess a jewel shard.”

Kagome scoffed lowly to herself and crossed her arms over her chest. “I'm strong enough on my own.”

Inuyasha laughed sharply. “Says the mortal who couldn't even stop a clumsy dead guy on her own.”

Kagome and Inuyasha leaned their heads towards each other and growled. Kaede, sitting between them shook her head. “I see this will be a joyful adventure,” she commented sarcastically.

* * *

“Kagome, you should get out of that water before you catch a cold,” Kaede shouted from behind the mountain bend.

“N-Not un-t-til the d-d-dirt is s-scrub-b-bed off,” she chattered with a trembling jaw. She took a deep breath, and dipped her whole body in the freezing water. _I miss plumbing_ , she thought, dreaming of a warm bath and fragrant soap. Instead, she was offered to rub her body down with a detergent made from camellia sinensis seeds in tiny bucket. _I'm a fool_ , she realized, too late to reverse the torturous decision to take a dip in an early spring river.

Inuyasha watched Kaede intently as she hung Kagome's white kimono up on a makeshift wooden rack. “I half expected you to run off by now,” Kaede mentioned as she took a seat beside him.

“Yeah, well, I can't exactly find those jewel shards myself as you pointed out earlier. That's why I agreed to work with that disgusting girl.”

“Wow, so you hate me that much?” Kagome said, returning to the group with soaking hair that clung to her face. Inuyasha stared at her without a word, but held a low growl from his chest. As if her scent wasn't bad enough, in a white kosode and a red hakama, she eerily resembled Kikyo.

Kaede noticed the slight pout in his aggressive expression, behind the show of fangs, he reminded her of a child who lost their toy. “What's with the face, Inuyasha?” she teased.

He turned his back to both Kagome and Kaede, grumbling incomprehensible words under his breath.

Kaede smirked to herself and sighed loudly. She clapped her hands against her thighs as she stood up. “Well, shall we make lunch?”

* * *

They all ate their nanakusa rice quietly, with a side of fuki-miso from the butterbur buds foraged on their way back. The silence pacified Kagome, and allowed her uncontrollable drowsiness to consume her. Her head felt light, as if someone was running their fingers softly through her hair.

With her belly full, and warm fire bringing life back into her limbs from the cold river, she eased onto the floor and rested her head on her clasped hands. She faced Inuyasha, who sat cross legged on the other side of the fire, thinking more than he spoke, he looked like he was meditating. Kagome's mind paused the chaos of the day, and thought only of the moments he was soulful. Before agreeing to work with her, he looked as if he were actually contemplating doing it to honor Kikyo. _She was the one who killed him._ Kagome could never forget the bloodlust in his tainted soul when he attacked her. The wound on her side still throbbed.

Kagome wanted to ask. She wanted to to pry. She wanted know who Kikyo was to him. She wanted to know...

* * *

“Kaede,” a young lady, with a child strapped to her back, announced before pushing the straw door out the way. “My daughter... she suddenly collapsed.” Her words sounded desperate, her hands unconsciously clasped as if in prayer.

Kaede immediately got up and headed to the mother, and grabbed a bowl of medicinal herbs from the table beside the door. As she reached it, she turned her head to Inuyasha and said, “Try not to fight, if she wakes up while I'm gone.”

Kagome snored as if in response to Kaede. Inuyasha scoffed, turning his head away from Kaede. Once she left, he looked to the disheveled outline of Kagome, hair tangled over her face, and snoring softly with every breath. “Humans are so weak. One small demon attack and they need to recharge,” he said loud enough for her to hear, if she were conscious.

His gaze shifted from a disgusted peering at a loathsome mortal, but softened the longer he was left alone with his thoughts. He stared a little too softly, and attempted to shove down the lingering sadness in his heart by closing his eyes. But her face was burned into his memory, and rested under his eyelids. He let out a melancholic sigh and walked out of Kaede's home to sit on a barren tree alone.

* * *

“She was fine this morning, she just...” the young mother said with a watery voice.

Kaede put her healing hand on the mothers shoulder, and gave her a small, but hopefully smile. “Let's see what's causing this.” Kaede approached the sleeping preteen girl, but froze in her tracks when the girl lifted her arms slightly. Kaede couldn't move as she processed the strange behaviour. Her upper body lifted, head drooping, as if she were being pulled by her arms by an invisible entity. “Move back,” Kaede instructed.

The child rose up, and hovered over her futon. “She's floating?!” her mother yelled in disbelief.

The child's hand rose in an unnatural way, lifting from her middle finger, and revealing the nearly-invisible black strands that wrapped around various parts of her body. _Hair?_

Unlike the rising child, the butchers knife rose quickly and effortlessly, and flew into the child's puppet hand. And just as quickly, the child swung at Kaede.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much Brini for helping me word things better, and giving the powerful line "It grants untold power to humans and demons alike, transforming them into demons or even gods depending on how they wield it."
> 
> The next chapter will probably take me longer to write, but I'll try my best to get it out by the 21st~


	3. The First Shard

Inuyasha liked to sulk in peace, quietly watching nature move forward around him, unbothered and unknowing of his mixed blood. He preferred the company of singing birds who fought with him over real shit- him stealing their eggs.

Fighting and sulking. He spent most of his life surviving, and processing his survival like this, and grand trees granted him the opportunity to escape from the existence of demons and humans. But his ears couldn't stop flickering at every damn sound in the village.

_Are they having a fucking festival?_

His nose was stronger than his ears, and the scent of human blood helped him connect the dots. The sounds were screams of terror.

Despite swearing off his humanity from the moment he woke up, he could not tear himself away from the curiosity and rising concern.

He reluctantly jumped into the sky, watching the ant-sized people scatter from their homes. There was a band of strange humans, effortlessly gliding towards the frightened villagers with objects in their hands that reflected the sun. As Inuyasha dropped in closer, he noticed the weapons, the puddles of blood pouring out of bodies, and the strong scent of a demon. Immediately, he thought of...

* * *

Kagome was crawling on the floor with her gigantic spider-body, gobbling up purple pearls along the way like pac-man. Every pearl she ate rippled through her body, and out of her torso sprouted another leg. Quickly, she morphed into a centipede with a human face. She tried to speak, but she could only hiss. She tried to beg for her grandfather's help, but even in her frustration and bubbling tears, she couldn't do anything but hiss. Her grandfather held up ofudas with protective sutras on them while he screamed at her with a dozen voices, and threw them in her direction. They slithered towards her, sending chills up her spine, and tickling her skin with contact. The screams got louder and louder as she laughed from the ticklish ofudas, even when she felt so much dread.

Suddenly, Kagome gained consciousness, and mindlessly swatted at the strands of hair that were crawling up her legs. She blinked calmly three times before processing, and shrieked louder than anyone in the village.

She grabbed the bow beside her, and aimlessly swung at the bush of hair cloaking her legs. Like a snake, the hair recoiled at the spiritually powered azusa yumi, and slithered back a few feet before attempting to lunge at her again.

“Ew, get away from me!” Kagome shouted before striking the body of it with the tip of the bow. At last, the hair dissipated into nothingness. Kagome shivered like a frightened cat, and shook her hands like a wet dog.

Inuyasha burst through the door and immediately started shouted at her about something, but Kagome was too focused on the greasy hair oil coating her shins. “What _the fuck_ was that thing?” she said to herself.

Inuyasha bared his teeth, and repeated himself. “Do you sense a jewel nearby or not?”

Kagome finally looked up at him. “Huh?”

“The jewel!”

“I-I don't think so?” Kagome used her bow like a cane, assisting her to stand up. Finally processing the screams from outside, she asked, “What's going on?”

“The humans are possessed by a demon, but the smell is coming from everywhere, I don't know where they are hiding.” Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand as well her container of arrows, and dragged her out of the house into the chaos. “If the demon has a jewel shard, you can find them.”

Kagome tried for a moment to sense the energy of the jewel, but felt uneasy, and she found herself too distracted by the strings crossing through the entire village. “I don't-”

A large, grotesque bee fell from the sky and landed at Kagome's feet. She screamed and jerked away from it, smashing right into Inuyasha.

“What the hell is your problem?” he shouted, and pushed her away.

“T-That,” she pointed at the neatly-cut slices of the bee. “ _Thing_ came out of no where.”

Inuyasha looked down at it's fresh blood and seeping poison, then looked up at the clear sky. As he opened his mouth to speak, Kagome grabbed his hand and pulled him towards Kaede. She was holding her bleeding shoulder, corned by possessed villagers, and surrounded by walls of black hair.

“So you're the old priestess with the shikon jewel,” a lady with hair caught between her fingers said. She walked along strong strands of hair towards Kaede, effortlessly parting the villagers so she could get by. “My name is Yura, but there's not need for you to remember that.” She raised her hand, and whipped a row of strands at Kaede. Each strand sliced into a different part of her flesh, bringing Kaede to her knees. “You're life is as good as over!”

As she raised her hand again, a bright arrow cut through the strands of hair attached. Several villagers dropped onto the ground unconsciously. “Hey stupid, I'm the one with the shikon jewel!” Kagome lied, readying another arrow.

Yura eased her shocked expression into a smirk. “Well well, it seems he was misinformed.” With a simple motion of her hands, the remaining puppet-villagers turned towards Kagome and raised their butcher knives. 

“So you're the demon possessing these girls,” Inuyasha interjected. He cracked his knuckles, ready to punch the smirk off of Yura's face.

Kagome didn't wait for a confirmation. She shot her arrow at Yura's other hand, which disintegrated both the hair and her fingers. Yura cursed in pain, while her and the rest of the villagers dropped.

Yura seethed through clenched teeth, cradling her wounded hand with the other. “You bitch!”

Seeing Kaede bleeding profusely and desperately trying to keep her deep wounds closed with her hand, and groaning louder than she ever did when she sat down, Kagome immediately knew _I need to get this demon away from the village_. “Inuyasha, take care of Kaede,” Kagome instructed.

“What-?” he began to protest.

Kagome lowered her bow and shouted at Yura, “If you want the jewel, you're gonna have to kill me!” and ran off into the forest.

Yura whipped out a wooden comb from the sleeve of her black silk kimono. With a flick of her wrist, hair emerged out of the comb, but Inuyasha couldn't see it. Instead, he watched Yura lift into the air, and glide across it as if she were on the back of an invisible bird.

Inuyasha groaned loudly and started to remove his top. “That girl is stupider than I thought she'd be.” He started mumbling about "stupid humans" having a "death wish" and other things under his breath too quiet for Kaede to make out.

He threw his red top at Kaede, accidentally hitting her in the face with it. “Put this on, it's made from the fur of hinezumi so it's stronger than armor. It'll protect you if the villagers attack again.” Kaede stared at him with nothing but shock and an open mouth. “Don't get it wrong, you hag. If that girl dies, then you're the one who's gotta search for the jewel shards.”

Kaede smiled, and slowly slid the red top over her head and over her shoulders. “Be careful, Inuyasha.” She winced from the pain. “Watch out for the hair.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Kaede attempted to stand, but groaned and fell back down. “I figured you couldn't see it. Find Kagome, you'll need her eyes.”

* * *

_Why did I skip so many gym classes?_ Kagome was panting, and wheezing from the quick breaths of air burning her lungs. Yura was following closely behind her, tearing the forest apart with her army of hair strands, flooding in like a tsunami.

“Give the jewel to me, and I'll make your death a swift one.”

“That's,” Kagome panted. “Not a very,” she coughed, and stumbled on her feet. She barely managed to catch herself against a tree, and trudged on. “Enticing deal.”

A clump of hair wiped against Kagome's back, and sent her tumbling into the dirt. Kagome groaned and coughed in the fetal position. _Get up! Get up! Get up!_ She shouted internally to her limbs, but she couldn't stop wheezing desperately for air.

Yura closed in on Kagome, looming over her with her dark cloud of hair. Just as she raised the comb in her hand, Inuyasha jumped onto her and sliced off her hand with his claws.

Yura shrieked, and the hair started to fall around her briefly. In just a blink's time, the hair started to swirl around her and Inuyasha, leaving them to be in the eye of a hurricane.

“Get away from there!” Kagome shouted out, immediately followed by another coughing fit. Inuyasha didn't hesitate to trust her, and jumped away from Yura just before it encased her in a ball of hair and skulls.

“Where'd she go?” Inuyasha asked, wiping the blood off his hands with his pants.

Kagome's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. “What do you mean? She's in that giant thing,” she said, pointing up at the slowly enlarging ball of hair and skulls.

Inuyasha crossed his arms, and replied in an irritated tone, “Yeah, well apparently I don't got the eyes to see it.”

Kagome gasped, “It's an invisibility cloak.” Her eyes brightened. “This is like Harry Potter, and that's the hair of a Demiguise.”

Inuyasha's arms dropped to his side and his head sagged. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Kagome shook her head, and readied an arrow. “Nevermind, I've got this from here.” The arrow glided without resistance from the wind, but barely pierced the ball of hair. A small section of hair disintegrated, but quickly grew back and reinforced it's barrier with skulls. Kagome lowered her bow and her voice. “It didn't work.”

“Guess your arrows aint strong enough to get through her barrier." Inuyasha smirked as he lifted his sleeves up his arms one by one. “Shoot another arrow at it so I know where to hit.”

Kagome silently nodded, and watched closely as Inuyasha flew over and remained in sync with the arrow. His claws swiped through layers of hair, and the barrier popped like a bubble. The hair ricocheted back at him, slicing into his face and upper body.

The avalanche of hair and skulls fell to the ground, finally revealing Yura. “Her hands are back to normal,” Kagome voiced in surprise.

Yura laughed, and spoke in a sultry voice. “It's useless to fight, I'm immortal.” She spread her fingers apart to reveal the cat's cradle of hair in between. “Now, let me get your beautiful white hair for my collection.”

Before Kagome could even open her mouth, strands of hair tangled Inuyasha into a web, spreading out his arms and legs. Kagome frantically looked around the fallen mess of hair and skulls.

“Stay still, we wouldn't want your blood to dirty that wonderful hair of yours, now would we?” Yura pulled the strands towards her, tightening the ones around his neck. Yura descended closer to him, tugging on the strands as hard as she could. “How strange, it won't sev-”

Inuyasha sunk his claws into her chest, and grasped at the flesh within it. He forcibly ripped his hand out, holding nothing but skin and blood.

“How rude, toughing a woman's chest like that...”

 _It didn't even faze her... where is it? Where's her weakness?_ He thought to himself.

Suddenly, Yura gasped, and clutched her free hand to her chest where her heart should be. She sharply turned to look at Kagome, who was stabbing the tip of her arrow into a skull surrounded by a dark aura.

Yura lifted her comb and whipped hair towards Kagome whilst yelling, “I've had enough of you!”

Kagome grabbed the skull, and rolled out of the way, tangling herself in the pile of hair, but dodging the crackle of the hair whip. Yura jumped from her floor of hair, and striked again at Kagome, but not before her arrow cracked the skull in her hands.

Yura gasped as her body slowly crumbled in the air, and descended like snowflakes. With her body, the hair and skulls began to disappear, releasing Inuyasha from it's invisible hold.

Kagome sighed in relief, and flopped over onto her back. Inuyasha rubbed his bleeding neck as he slowly approaching her. “How did you know how to kill her?”

“Her body regenerated like nothing happened... I figured her heart was somewhere else.” With another deep sigh she closed her eyes, ready to take another nap, but suddenly sat up disturbed and nauseous. _What is that?_

She could _feel_ the energy of something strong and pure slowly darkening. It felt as if her bones were being squeezed by her flesh, and a sense of doom loomed over her like a smoke-filled sky. “I-” Kagome felt a physical pull towards the source of this energy, and she couldn't resist taking steps in it's direction. “I think I sense a jewel shard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter!! I decided to split it into two bc too much was happening. I'll post the second half in a week~
> 
> Update 23-05-2020: I'm sorry for the long hiatus! I've been working on other projects (other fics, og stories, but also gardening, sewing, etc) and I have chronic hand pain so it's very difficult for me to work on this D: I'm going to try utilizing speech-to-text and hopefully have an update for ya'll soon!


	4. Home

“What?” Inuyasha's head snapped towards her. “Where is it?”

She pointed further into the forest, just a fraction to the right from the well. “It's coming from over there.”

Inuyasha squatted in front of her and ordered, “Get on.”

“But you're h-”

“Get on! We can't lose it!”

Kagome hesitantly got on his back, but before she could even put her hands on his shoulder, he jumped into the sky.

Choking him again with her arms, she bloodied the sleeves of this kimono. He didn't seem to notice she was strangling him unintentionally, and waited for her to give more instruction. Within a few seconds, they were flying over the jewel, and she could feel it dragging her down, to the point she began to slide down Inuyasha's back. “There! Right below us!”

Inuyasha adjusted his weight, and shot their bodies down like a missile. In their line of vision was a hulking monster devouring a crowd of people. Boils on it's leather-like back burst into sharp horns, morphing into a red creature from the blood staining it's skin. The strain on her mental capacity to endure the horrors of the day finally caught up to Kagome, falling into unconsciousness quicker than her narcolepsy. Her torso floated away from Inuyasha as they plummeted towards the oni, and crashed into him upon impact with the ground.

From the unexpected force, Inuyasha stumbled on his feet and slid into the dirt face first. “Hey, what the hell are you doing?” he shouted at Kagome, who unconsciously laid on him.

Inuyasha shoved her off without waiting for a response, finally noticing she was not awake. “Did you seriously fall asleep now?!” he shouted, shaking her by her shoulders. Her head fell back, and a small snore came from her mouth. Inuyasha groaned loudly, and tossed her to the side. He arose from the ground, honing his vision on the growing demon. “Guess I'll have to shred it for the jewel shard.”

The demon molted from its original form, like a snake shedding it's skin. An ugly beast that emphasized the rarity of Inuyasha's half-demon appearance provided no intimidation. Inuyasha scoffed at his opponents new form, and charged at him like a bullet, piercing through the demon's body and dragging out its intestines with his claws.

However, with the shard still in its body, the demon revived and focused its energy onto Inuyasha instead of the village. Unleashing its newfound power, the demon struck the ground and shook the core of the island, and rippled through the roots of the earth.

 _So, this is what the jewel can do,_ Inuyasha thought. He could almost feel the power rippling through his body just from the contact.

The villagers screamed while two tiny children try to grab Kagome from the crack that opened beneath her.

Inuyasha audibly clicked his tongue out of frustration, but dropped the remains from the demons body to lunge at Kagome and the children, to pull them away from danger. Taking advantage of his distraction, the demon swiped it’s claws in Inuyasha's direction, cutting down the trees in it’s path. The attack tore through some of Inuyasha's exposed skin.

He groaned, and dropped Kagome, from which the tumble finally woke her up. She rubbed her head as she lifted herself from the ground, immediately shouting in fear when she saw the demon hurdling over the fallen trees towards them. Though she was still hazy from being unconscious, she guarded the kids with her body.

Kagome braced for the impact, but it never came. With her eyes still tightly shut, she could hear something dropping onto the ground. She didn't realize what it was until she heard Inuyasha panting from the pain. Vulnerable without his red top, he fearlessly surrendered his body to protect Kagome and the kids. The bloodied claws of the demon broke through his stomach, pulling with it some of his insides.

“Got me back, huh?” Inuyasha managed to breathe out. get through his clenched teeth.

Kagome whispered his name, and extended her trembling hand out towards him.

Inuyasha turned his head slightly to look at Kagome, and said “Can you see where this ugly thing is hiding the jewel?”

She nodded, and silently pointed to the demons throat. Inuyasha dug his claws into the demons arm and pulled its hand his out of his torso. The moment the hand left his body, Inuyasha dragged the monster down and ripped through its throat.

Clumps of blood and flesh scattered across the ground, and from the waste shone a brilliant purple shard.

Without missing a beat, Inuyasha reached out to swipe the shard from the bloodied mess.

“Sit, boy!” Kagome yelled, and winced from the groan of pain coming from Inuyasha.

From his position on the floor, he shouted, “What the hell was that for?!”

“I'm sorry! I'm not suppose to let any demon get the jewel!” She extended an arm and placed her hand on his shoulder gently. “Are you okay?” She turned to the kids, and asked them to go get help for him.

Inuyasha growled, and rose as if he weren't fatally injured. “Well I don't care, I'm the one who killed this demon, so I get the shard.”  
In his second attempt to grab the jewel, Kagome commanded him to sit again. She quickly grabbed the jewel and held it in a fist.

One of the older villagers rushed to their side, guided by the two children, with cloth and herbal supplies. The doctor hesitated for a moment upon seeing Inuyasha's ears, claws, and teeth. Kagome clasped her hands and bowed before the doctor. “Please help him, he was injured rescuing this village.” The doctor silently nodded, and set their supplies down.

Kagome could clearly see the jewel through her hand, and memories of her family flashed through her mind. She stared at it intently, completely oblivious to Inuyasha's protests to having his wounds fixed up by a human. While he was shoving the doctor away, Kagome got up, and ran.

“Where are you going with my jewel!” Inuyasha shouted after her.

She responded as she ran, “I need to try it! I need to know if the well works!”

Kagome trudged her tired legs into the forest until she reached the well. With heavy pants to catch her breath, she mentally prepared herself to disappear from this terrifying period of time. With her legs dangling inside the well, she closed her eyes, and jumped.

  
  


The familiar feeling of floating coaxed her into opening her eyes. She was again in an expansive sea of blue, gently falling into the bright light below her.

Her feet delicately met the ground, and slowly she returned to the well. Kagome inspected the bottom, free of any bones or demon flesh, bringing an overwhelming sense of joy and relief in her chest.

She threw her head back and yelled out, “Grandpa!”

Kagome could hear the distant voices of her family, and continually called out their names while she eagerly attempted to climb up the exposed bricks from within the well.

A small voice reached her. “Kagome?”

“It's me, mom!”

Within a few seconds, her mom's head poked out from the opening of the well. “Oh, Kagome!” she burst into tears. “Sota, get a rope ladder, quickly!” Her mother quietly thanks the gods for her safety as she sobbed from relief.

Kagome's grandfather joined her line of vision, unrolling the rope ladder into the well and holding it in place with Sota.

The moment Kagome reached the lip of the well, she was squeezed into a hug from her mother, who continued to cry uncontrollably. Her grandfather checked for injuries, but couldn't see her deepest wounds with the kimono she wore. When he was satisfied with only seeing minor cuts and a dirty appearance, he asked, “We checked the well, where were you all this time? We were so worried, we thought the demon devoured you.”

Kagome finally opened a dam of tears, and held onto her mother even more tightly than her mother squeezed her. “I was so scared,” she admitted.

-

_This feels so good_. Kagome submerged her whole body in the steaming tub of water up to her lips, playfully mimicking a hippo. The smell of her floral shampoo, and vanilla body wash helped her drift away from the thought of her wounds. But even the comforting warmth of the water couldn't distract her from thoughts of the other world. Despite wanting to enjoy this luxury for longer, she stood up and grabbed her towel.

-

Sota was the only one willing to cut the silence with his voice. “Kagome's story...”

His grandfather sighed. “But it's true. The legend of the bone-eaters well has been passed down for generations. It's said that the remains of a demon vanish somewhere within. What if that somewhere is the flow of time?”

Sota trembled at the thought of demons pouring out from the well.

-

Wearing nothing but a bath robe and her shower shoes, Kagome strolled along the temple-site until she reached the sacred tree. She gently touched the bare part of the tree where Inuyasha was pinned for decades, whispering to herself, “Everything that happened today feels like a dream. On the other side... I wonder if they'll be okay.”

The memory of Inuyasha calling her weak came to mind unwillingly. _Hmph_. “Inuyasha will be fine without me,” she reasoned to herself in an irritated tone, ripping her hand away from the tree.

Yet, feelings of guilt nudged at her. Remembering that she left both Inuyasha and Kaede injured, she couldn't help but feel worried that they may be attacked _again,_ over the very jewel she destroyed. The jewel she is responsible for gathering and protecting from the clutches of evil beings like the oni who ate humans alive. One shard was capable of bringing so much terror.

Her grandfather placed a wool blanket over her shoulders. “It's cold out here.”

Kagome hummed in agreement, still looking at the tree. “Grandpa,” she started, touching her side. “Did you put the shikon jewel inside of me?”

He laughed, “I didn't even know if it truly existed until today! And I don't recall you ever needing surgery. So unless your parents secretly joined a cult that performed surgery to put it inside of you, I have no idea how it ended up there.”

Kagome didn't really laugh in response. “I think,” she sighed. “I think I'm suppose to protect it.” Kagome put a closed hand to her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. “I know it sounds crazy, but I can't just,” she gestured with her hand towards the well. “Leave the jewel like that. I can't-” she swallowed her words. _I can't leave them like that_.

“There's no such things as crazy, just misunderstood. I knew you would have great spiritual powers from when you were five years old.”

Kagome looked to her grandfather. “You did?”

He nodded, and recalled the memory to her. “You used to speak to people who weren't there. Unlike imaginary friends, you didn't know you were talking to anyone because you immediately forgot your interactions. Your mother was very concerned, took you to dozens of doctors but they couldn't find any physical reason for this, and because you found no distress in your hallucinations, they refused to prescribe you medications.”

Kagome held on tighter to the blanket around her shoulders. “I don't remember that.”

“I didn't think you would.” He reached into his pocket, and handed her an ofuda with 'Amaterasu' written on it. “On New Years, when you were 10, you found this at a temple, and told me this was the spirit you were talking to.”

Kagome laughed lightly while wiping the tears from her eyes. “Ironic I'd be talking to the sun goddess when I'm never up during the day.”

Her grandpa leaned in, covering the side of his mouth. “Between us, I still believe she's the reason you have narcolepsy, because the very day you stopped talking to her is when you developed it.” Then he shrugged. “But who knows why she did.”

“I wonder,” Kagome added quietly, before they drifted into a comfortable silence for a while. Until Kagome made her decision. “I want to go back.” Her grandfather's worry lines were prominent in response. “I know we expected normal miko responsibilities for me, but this feels like fate, and I can't ignore my responsibility over the shikon jewel.”

Her grandfather sunk his head for a moment before putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I'm proud of you.”

-

The cloth touching his skin was covered in dry, crispy blood, yet Inuyasha kept it as is, preferring to sulk in a tree near he well instead of washing or mending his clothes. _How the hell am I suppose to find the shards now?_ A human heart beat in his chest, but demonic energy pumped through his veins. _I don't want to be this way anymore. Kikyo... It wasn't suppose to be like this._

His healed-over shoulder wound ached at the thought of her. He wanted to throw himself back in time, to ask her _why_...

 _Why is she back?_ Inuyasha leaned forward to watch Kagome climb out of the well with struggle, carrying a fat bag on her back. She wore strange clothing that hugged her body in rare colours; blue bottoms, and a fuzzy pink top that looked like matted fur. The shikon jewel hung from her neck, in a small glass bottle.

Kagome fell to the ground as soon as she stepped out of the well, spreading her arms out as if she was giving up, and is welcoming carnivorous creatures to feast on her body. After several minutes in that position, she got up, and strode along towards Kaede's village.

Curious, Inuyasha hopped along tree branches, barely rustling them to keep his cover from her, until Kagome stopped in front of Kaede's door to take a deep breath. He could've continued on without a sound, but Inuyasha jumped down from the trees and landed behind Kagome. His expression was somewhat like a pouting child feigning pride, too stubborn to apologize to a child they started a fight with.

Kagome immediately turned to him. “Didn't think you'd come back,” Inuyasha said while looking away, and crossing his arms over his chest.

In a heartbeat, Kagome grabbed his hand, and tugged him. “Oh good, you're here! I brought a first aid kit,” she said, while dragging him into Kaede's home. There was a young child from the village with her, slowly cleaning the wounds on her hands with water and a cloth.

“You're two are alive,” Kaede said with a surprised expression, wincing as she sat up.

Kagome gave her a small smile before setting down her massive bag. She rummaged through it, pulling out strange items with elaborate designs on them. Finally, she pulled out what she seemed to be looking for; a white box with a red cross on it. From it, she pulled out a small bottle, and explained, “This is disinfectant. It's going to sting, but it will prevent an infection from setting in.”

Kagome reached her hand out, silently asking the young child for the bloodied rag, then dipped it in the murky bowl of water full of blood. “I'll get more water,” the young child said, before setting off with the wooden bucket beside the door.

“Kagome,” Kaede started, but inhaled sharply when the disinfectant touched her wound. “Did you go back home?”

Kagome hummed a response in a melancholic tone, “Mhm.” She set the rag down, then pulled out little woven strips that she stuck on Kaede's wounds. “My grandfather didn't know about the jewel. I still don't understand it, how it ended up inside me, how it makes the well into a... a portal.” She released Kaede's hand, and moved onto undoing the bandages on her right shoulder. “We should disinfect these wounds too.”

“You know, Kagome,” Kaede sighed, but smiled. “You remind me of my late sister. When I first saw you, for a moment, I thought she was brought back to life.” Kagome just looked at Kaede. “Maybe, just maybe, you are a reincarnation of her, and that's how the jewel found you.”

Suddenly, Inuyasha, who had be quietly observing while leaning against the doorframe, huffed and stomped away. This prompted Kagome to yell, “Hey! Stay here! I'm treating your wounds next!” Still, he ignored her and hopped off and out of view.

“Kagome, where did you say you were from?” Kaede inquired.

Kagome calmed herself down with a groan, and turned back to Kaede. “Huh?”

“Where did you come from?”

“I came from the well in Tokyo.” Kagome re-wrapped the bandages, not nearly as neat or tight as they were before, but good enough at covering the open wounds.

“Tokyo... I've never seen clothes like yours before. Not even from the few foreigners I've come across... Kagome, _when_ did you come from?”

Kagome froze at the question. She lowered her hand and her head slightly, and laughed half-heartedly. “I was thinking the same thing. I don't think we're from the same time. I'm sorry, I only know Gregorian years. But I can tell you how far in the future if I know the emperor now.”

“The emperor is Ashikaga Yoshiaki.”

She counted silently on her fingers before replying confidently, “I live 500 years in the future.”

Kaede gasped, and studied Kagome's face for any hint of deception or humor. Yet, there was none. "Then it must be true," she said in a whisper. 

-

Inuyasha silently watched the setting sun, finally bringing and end to the chaotic day. He couldn't stop himself from thinking of Kikyo again, and the night before in his memories... He touched his lips and closed his eyes to remember the soft touch of their first and only kiss. 

"There you are."

For a moment, his heart quickened, foolishly believing her voice and face were Kikyo's. When he realized it couldn't be Kikyo, he turned away from her. "What do you want?"

Kagome held up the bottle of liquid that made Kaede wince. "I'm here to take care of your wounds."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "There's nothing you can do for me."

Kagome let out and irritated huff, then warned, "Don't make me say those words to bring you down."

He jumped down and ripped open his top to show her his 'wounds' that had completely healed over already. "My body isn't as weak as yours. Got it now?"

Her eyes gleamed in awe, and she reached out to touch his chest. "Amazing." Inuyasha flinched at her touch, and leapt back before covering himself up again. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was... I shouldn't've..." A blush dusted her cheeks before her sentence had even finished. She cleared her throat, and changed the topic of conversation. "Kaede is making supper, if you'd like to join."

Slowly, Inuyasha let his guard down again. "I guess I could eat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse for how long this update took... Sorry the quality isn't great either.   
> I'm working on several writing projects at the moment, so I probably wont post the next chapter until 2021! Thank you for your patience <3

**Author's Note:**

> I tried my best to learn about the process of becoming a shinto priestess, but... there is a lot of conflicting information online. From what I can understand, today there is no initiation process where the priestess in question is possessed by a kami (spirit). However, I wanted to keep the old tradition alive in this story. I apologize to those who consider themselves practitioners or followers of shinto, or have a close affiliation with it, and portrayed it as incorrectly. Please let me know in which ways I'm wrong, if I am, and I will gladly adjust the story accordingly. 
> 
> Please let me know if I can build more clarity on anything in this chapter! I just finished rewatching the entirety of Inuyasha so it's still fresh in my mind, and I might've missed important information that make things confusing for older fans!


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